Site Search Navigation

Site Navigation

Site Mobile Navigation

Egypt 1, Cameroon 0: Egypt, Champions of Africa

By The New York Times February 10, 2008 11:50 amFebruary 10, 2008 11:50 am

Look back on commentary of the African Cup final between Egypt and Cameroon by Jeff Z. Klein who described the action in Accra as he watched from African Kine restaurant at W. 116th St. in Harlem.

90+4 IT’S ALL OVER! EGYPT ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF AFRICA!

Aboutreika kisses the ground. And now the Egypt players bow in prayer.

They get up and hug, even as Kameni and the other Cameroon players lie prostrated in grief.

The Egypt goalkeeper Hadary is sitting on top of his goalnet, leading the Egypt fans in celebration.

What a great game this was! Thanks to the Africa Kine restaurant here in New York for hosting us. Thanks to you for your comments and for following along with us today. Thanks to Ghana for a well-run tournament, and thanks to Egypt and Cameroon for a great final. Congratulations, Pharoahs, for repeating as champions of Africa!

In Accra, they’re going to present the trophies, but we won’t stick around for that. Instead, we’ll say good day to you all and get to some Senegalese food here on W.116th Street. Cheers!

90+4 The final seconds. CROSSED INTO THE EGYPT BOX BY BINYA, SONG GETS UP HIGH, BUT HE FLICKS IT HIGH AND WIDE OF THE NET!

90+3 Attention, DANGER! Mbia flags a ball down in the box, but his turn and shot send the ball well over the bar! Desperate final moments!

90+2 Seems that two minutes are left. Egypt on the verge of the championship!

90+1 How much time has been added? We don’t know. Cameroon loft one into the box, but not a problem as it bounces easily to Hadary. Are the Lions out of gas? Er, petrol?

90+1 Mbia tries to draw a foul at the edge of the box, but no foul given. A corner though … it pings around the box, but EGYPT CLEAR!

90 sub The last one for Egypt: The goalscorer, Aboutreika, is out for Ibrahim Said, a defender.

TRICKY SHOT FROM CAMEROON, but right to Hadary.

89 THE GAME’S FINAL MOMENTS! Cameroon press and press, but the Egypt defence is holding. Still, can they hang on?

88 yellow to Idrissou of Cameroon, who frustratedly kicked the ball into the stands after he got caught by the Egyptian offside trap.

87 yellow Hassan gets one for a late challenge against Geremi.

87 CHANCE FOR CAMEROON! MBIA SET UP BEHIND THE EGYPT DEFENCE, HIS SHOT IS STOPPED BY A DIVING HADARY, BUT THE REBOUND GOES SAFELY TO AN EGYPT PLAYER!

85 sub Shehata makes a second change for Egypt. The forward Zaky comes out — he played well — and is replaced by Shawky, a midfielder.

Another massive throw-in from Binya, and goalie Hadary touches it over the bar.

And now a shot from Binya that Hadary scoops up. Cameroon threatening!

84 BAD LUCK FOR CAMEROON! A ball at the edge of the Egyptian area, two men went up for it, and it deflected off the Egypt defender’s hand. But the Beninois referee called it the other way! Cameroon incensed!

83 To those of you writing from around the US wondering where you can watch this on TV, I dunno. We’re watching at an African restaurant in Harlem, which has a special satellie feed. We’re watching the Senegalese channel.

82 Crossed into the Egypt area. DANGER! But Al-Hadary comes out to catch it at the near post. Nice goalkeeping!

81 Aboutreika had been invisible in this second half, but the superstar emerges for the goal, his fourth of the African Cup. And now he’s earned a foul along the Cameroon end line — but the Indomitable Lions clear it out.

Will they really prove indomitable?

79 GOAL EGYPT! GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!

RIGO SONG MISPLAYED A BALL TO THE BACK, HE WAS SHOULDERED OFF THE BALL BY ZIDAN! THEY STRUGGLED MIGHTILY IN THE BOX, AND FINALLY ZIDAN GOT IT OVER TO AN UNCOVERED ABOUTREIKA IN THE BOX, ALL ALONE! HE SHOT BENEATH THE ONRUSHNG KAMENI! EGYPT 1, CAMEROON 0!!!!

Fault also falls to Tchato, another Cameroon defender who arrived during the struggle between Song and Zidan, but he never got to the ball!

78 A corner for Cameroon falls into the area, but the defender stops the resulting shot.

75 Sorry, I just moderated a bunch of comments — didn’t realize that there were a few waiting. Keep sending in your thoughts!

74 Zaky to Aboutreika, one side of box to the other, but the Cameroon defence holds fast! What terrific defence from both teams in this match!

72 Egypt resorting to Route 1, but with purpose. A long ball from Hassan to an Egypt forward, Zidan, and it was offside by only a hair.

70 Rigo Song has an embarrassing episode. Trying to clear a bouncing ball he chases it all over the field trying to get it to fall for him to clear out, but in the end he winds up nudging it right out of bounds. No harm comes of this, though.

69 Free kick for Cameroon from 40 yards away. … lofted into the area, but taken care of by the Egypt defence.

We’ve heard nothing from the Egyptian superstar Aboutreika in the second half. I’m not even sure if he’s still in the game.

67 Zidan of Egypt — you’ll find many YouTube clips dedicated to him — has a “Z” shaved into his haircut.

65 sub Cameroon make their last substitution, and rather early. Epalle comes out, replaced by Modeste Mbami of Olympique Marseille. Mbami’s a midfielder, replacing a midfielder.

64 Epalle slams into Moawad, an accident, but a hard collision. Moawad’s all right though.

62 yellow to Cameroon’s Atouba for a hard foul. That’s the first card of the game.

61 EGYPT HIT THE GOALPOST! THEY HIT THE GOALPOST! Abd-Rabou headed it from 10 yards away and it bounded off the near post!

60 The referee, Cofi Cojia of Benin, has done a very good job today. No controversies.

sub Zidan comes in for Egypt, replacing Motaeb, who had a great game. Zidan has had two goals in this tournament, a well-regarded forward for Hamburg in the Bundesliga. He’s one of the only guys on Egypt who plays abroad.

59 Epalle crosses in a nice ball to Eto’o, but he’s too closely marked to do anything with it. Eto’o has gotten free a couple of times and been dangerous, but otherwise the Egyptians have covered him extremely well in this game.

58 That Cameroon keeper Kameni is HUGE. He’s got the sleeves of his shirt cut to expose his massive biceps. I’m intimidated, and I’m sitting 4,000 miles away.

57 sub Idrissou comes in for Cameroon for Emana. Idrissou plays in the Bundesliga for Bochum — he’s a forward, on for a midfielder.

55 Yet another Egyptian corner — it pinballs around in the area before Kameni takes charge and grabs it out of the air.

54 Zaky having a great game for Egypt — he races into the corner and forces Rigo Song to surrender a corner. But nothing comes of it.

Another corner for Egypt, headed away.

Yet another corner for Egypt … A LONG DRIVE FROM 25 YARDS OUT, AND A DIVING SAVE BY KEMANI! IT WAS ABD-RABOU WHO SHOT!

52 Now Cameroon buzzing about in the Egypt end. No clear chances, but they’re sustaining *pression*.

50 Zaky a hard shot that’s parried away by Kameni at the near post, and then Cameroon clear the rebound. Dangerous chance for the Pharoahs!

49 Epalle of Cameroon sporting a bandage on the top of his ear. Must’ve been an outer ear injury he sustained earlier.

48 Throw in for Cameroon in the Egypt end, and Binya picks the ball up with one hand, then flings it right into the middle of the penalty area before it’s headed away. Binya is a lethal weapon with throw-ins like that.

46 Et la partie recommence! An offside for Egypt to start the half.

Mbia now pulls the shirt of Hassan and is lucky not to get carded. He and Atouba, the color commentator says, faced a lot of pressure in the central defence in the first half but managed to do well enough.

More halftime Here at the Africa Kine restaurant in Harlem, it’s gotten pretty full, and not just with West Africans. There are also some North Africans here, plus a couple of European and your garden-variety Americans, like me and my colleague Lawrie.

The teams have come back out onto the field, and of course there are your obligatory shots of the colorful Cameroon fans jubilating in the stands. Not many Egyptians there from what we can see. They won the last cup two years ago, of course, beating Cote d’Ivoire on penalties in Cairo.

Halftime A good half, and the stadium in Accra is now full. Some great chances from both teams, and they’re both playing hard. Yet somehow the game lacks some morbo. Perhaps because none of the attacks have been sustained ones? Dunno — it’s hard to put a finger on it.

45+4 All these injuries mean even more added time. A goal kick now for Cameroon, and presumably that’ll be it. … So it is.

Mi-temps!

45+2 Egypt insinuate their way into the Cameroon end again. First Fathi and then Motaeb cross it in, but both times it’s knocked away by the defence. A cameroon player is down, Atouba. And the Cameroon coach, Otto Pfister, waves his pfist at the referee.

45 Two minutes added.

44 Motaeb, Aboutreika and Zaky combine for some nice tic-tac-toe passing for the Pharaohs, but the final shot from Zaky is easily saved by Kameni.

40 Free kick for Egypt after Abd-Rabou draws another foul. Zaky drives from 30 yards away, well taken, but it goes perhaps three feet over the bar.

38 Egypt goalie Hadary is down for a couple of minutes after Eto’o clipped his ankle as he ran by while Hadary was diving for a loose ball. Egypt are playing five in the back and building up from the midfield. Cameroon are playing only three in the back. That probably accounts for the fast breaks that Egypt has been profiting from.

35 GREAT CHANCE FOR EGYPT! A PERFECTLY WEIGHTED BALL TO MOTAEB WHO BARGES RIGHT IN ON GOAL! BUT A GREAT SAVE FROM KAMENI! AND ON THE REBOUND, TCHATO TIES UP MOTAEB SO THAT HE PUTS IT WIDE! A penalty? Penalty? NO! NO FOUL! GOAL KICK TO CAMEROON! WOTTA PLAY!

34 GREAT SKILL FROM ETO’O! He fakes defender Shady Mohamed out of his shoes, then crosses right across the goalmouth, but no one on the other end.

33 Abd-Rabou, among three Cameroonians, draws the foul. He plays for Ismaily in the Egyptian league, and he’s quite the player. On the free kick, “Slim” Shady Mohamed fires it wide.

32 Sepp Blatter in the house. He watches intently, chin in hand. This is a rather absorbing game so far.

30 Zaky is on the ground nursing his ankle. He got mixed up in a battle in the corner with Tchato — those two have been great today — and now the trainers are out to look at him. Zidan, “the Egyptian Zidane”, is warming up on the sideline.

But now Zaky is ok, and play resumes.

29 Great battle at full speed between Zaky of Egypt and Tchato, the Cameroonian defender. Ends up a throw-in deep in the Cameroonian end. Great stuff, and although the game’s been even, the Egyptians to me at least have been far more creative and dangerous.

28 Emana faffs up a great chance by passing the ball right to an Egyptian.

25 Nice flag at the stadium, the Senegalese flag and “Women Supporters of Senegal”.

23 Another fine cross from Geremi, and it’s deflected out for a corner. Now Cameroon’s turn to threaten! … But the chance goes for nought.

21 Abd-Rabou a great run up the middle! A great run from the Egyptian who’s scored four goals in this tournament, and then the ball goes to the superstar Aboutreika, who’s had three, but again he fires too high!

19 NOW EGYPT AT THE OTHER END! MOTAEB FIRES AND A GREAT SAVE BY KAMENI! THE REBOUND TO ABOUTREIKA, BUT HE FIRES OVER THE NET!

18 Emanaa draws a foul in a dangerous spot. Five in the wall for Egypt!

GREAT DIVING STOP BY HADARY IN THE EGYPT GOAL!

16 sub That’s Binya preparing to enter the game for Cameroon. He’s to replace Alex Song, the Arsenal player! The nephew of Rigobert Song. He tried to play today after getting hurt in the semifinal, but he couldn’t go after all. So in comes Binya, who plays for Benfica!

14 Cameroon seem to be preparing a sub, but in the meantime an Egypt corner is headed clear.

But back they come, through Abd-Rabou! But defused.

10 Nkong takes a knock to the head, but he’s ok. Cameroon’s players perform in the topmost European leagues. Egypt’s are all drawn from their domestic league, the huge clubs Al-Ahly, Zamalek and Ismaily.

DANGEROUS CHANCE FOR CAMEROON! Geremi’s shot is fumbled by Egypt keeper Al-Hadary, but the rebound is cleared.

AND NOW A CHANCE FOR EGYPT! Abd-Rabou lofts one in that goalie Kameni plays with his feet, and Amr Zaky shoots the rebound while Kameni is down, only to fire it over the net!

9 Atouba of Cameroon baffles two defenders with a loping run down the left. The commentator says in French that Cameroon are trying to use their speed because the Egyptian defence is very well organized. Thank you, colleague Lawrie Mifflin for that translation. She’s sitting here with me at the Africa Kine, which is filling up with fans.

7 Abd-Rabou takes the free kick — he of the four goals in this tourney — a great swerving shot, but goalie Kameni makes a diving catch!

6 Aboutreika, who is starting after all, races down the middle and is fouled by Mbia. Free kick from a very dangerous position in front of goal.

Hey, Jose Mourinho is in the stands!

4 They show defender Bikey of Reading and Cameroon, sitting on the bench. He was red-carded from the semifinal after pushing a medical assistant off one of his teammates who was lying on the ground injured. One of the more bizarre red cards you’ll ever see.

2 Egypt in red with white shorts and black socks. Cameroon in green, red, and yellow.

First chance of the game! Eto’o of Cameroon, the tourney’s top goalscorer with 5, went up for a dangerous service and headed from 10 feet, but defender Shady covered him well and the ball went way high over the bar.

1 min Le match est commence!

With Ghana out of the final, the stadium is only three-quarters full and definitely not rocking.

* * *

Hello fans of African soccer around the world! We’re describing this match as it is played in Accra, but we’re at the Africa Kine restaurant on W. 116th St. in Harlem. As I type this, the national anthem of Cameroon is being played, and the crowd of Cameroon supporters in the stadium are cheering it on, arrayed in green and yellow. The pageantry!

Good news for Cameroon, Alex Song is over his injury and will play at midfield for the Indomitable Lions. The captains, Rigo Song and Ahmed Hassan, exchange souvenirs and shake hands at center.

A surprise, Aboutreika does no seem to be starting for Egypt!

Here are the probable starting lineups, but there are evidently changes, which we’ll get to you as soon as possible.

This should be a great match and hopefully the supporters are out in full force. Much credit has to go to Egypt for being in the position to repeat, and win their 6th title. That itself is impressive enough. Cameroon will be flying under the radar and can prove the doubters wrong. They are more than capable of producing the victory. What a match to come, good luck…

It is a delightful surprise to see the Times’ live feed of the African Cup. In the US, a country where soccer is a minority sport, gestures such as this one make The Times’ foreign-born readers/soccer lovers feel less invisible. It is great to feel taken into account. Hopefully we will see more coverage and more of this type of efforts as the Soccer World Cup gets nearer. I am sure you have many more readers interested in following international sports (especially soccer) than you think you have. In the meantime, many thanks for the feeds.

Mr. Klein,
Thanks for providing this “live viewing” of the African Cup. Great Job. It read well; seemed like a hard fought, even match. I chanced upon your feed. I’ll probably revisit your soccer blog now that I am aware of it.
pax,
Nick F

I am not a fan of Egypt but appreciate the fact that they believe in themselves. They won the trophy with an Egyptian coach and a lot of locally based players.
All other African countries have hired European coaches and many of them did not bother to field a single player from domestic leagues.
Egypt has shattered the myth of playing in Europe or of being coached by a European that is in the mind of many Africans.

Egypt win the champions of africa……this is very excellent ….iam proud of Egypt for being like that …iam very happy ..iam proud of my self coz iam Egyption………………………. i think that this team is the best of all in our history..i guess that this team will do somthings in the champions that it will be in 2009 and 2010 ….i knowe that ansha2allah…the players are very good realy…and all of this coz the (m3alem hasan shahata) he is the heart to this team…GO GO GO GO EGYPT….ALL THE EGYPTIONS ARE PROUD OF U.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…

thanks to allah….we were not nominated to win the cup…all the world believed that the african stars of the european leagues are gonna win….but egypt(misr-that’s its name in arabic) proved they thought wrong….we are the champions for the 6th time….faithful players,sticked together to the last second of the championship….

What's Next

About

Goal, The New York Times soccer blog, will report on news and features from the world of soccer and around the Web. Times editors and reporters will follow international tournaments and provide analysis of games. There will be interviews with players, coaches and notable soccer fans, as well as a weekly blog column by Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore. Readers can discuss Major League Soccer, foreign leagues and other issues with fellow soccer fans.